Day

1526-33
Marble, length: 185 cm
Sagrestia Nuova, San Lorenzo, Florence

The picture shows the figure of Day, a detail of the tomb of Giuliano de' Medici.

The lower torso of this figure, whose face and right hand are only sculpted roughly, assumes a similar position to Dusk. However, its upper body is caught in a violent movement, which the sculptor has frozen at an almost painful moment. Its left arm is bent behind its back, while its right reaches beyond its left leg. Even in the absence of any supplementary work to explain what is being depicted, its position apparently forms a response to the gestures of the evocative figure of Night.